Pope Leo XIV warns AI could threaten workers as industrial revolution did in the 1800s.
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New pope chose his name based on AI’s threats to “human dignity”
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TL;DR: new pope views the information age as similar to the industrial revolution. Both caused exploitation and dehumanization, in addition to the improvements in quality of life. He views his place in history as similar as previous Pope Leo, in that it is his mission to lay out an ethical roadmap for this new world.
Most of Ars would probably find the Vatican's stance on AI rather refreshing. While everyone was talking about terminators last year, the church had clerics talking about blurring of truth, theft of art, identities and human dignity in general. If I can dig up an article, I'll edit this post with a link.
Official Vatican Stance on AI, dated January.
Antique et Nova: Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence
Most of Ars would probably find the Vatican's stance on AI rather refreshing. While everyone was talking about terminators last year, the church had clerics talking about blurring of truth, theft of art, identities and human dignity in general. If I can dig up an article, I'll edit this post with a link.
Official Vatican Stance on AI, dated January.
Antique et Nova: Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence
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That alone explains the rise of Southern Baptism and American Evangelism. Can't have a flavor of Christianity that says non-capital owners are deserving of respect.
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As is the case with all humans, Leo XIV has his flaws but I am very encouraged by his stances on human dignity and immigration. I hope that he continues as he has begun and becomes as beloved as Francis was.
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Agree. The Catholic Church and I are never going to come close to seeing eye to eye, but Leo seems like a reasonable person as far as popes go. He's WAY, WAY better than Ratzinger, who bore an uncanny physical and moral resemblance to Emperor Palpatine.
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I assume that you are referring to the split of the Southern Baptists from the Baptists over the subject of slavery (the Southern Baptists were for it).
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Yep It's Me
Ars Praetorian
Seems like, if he wants to do battle with the AI machines, he should have chosen a different name ... Neo the First.
No blasphemy intended. Just making a topically-relevant pun.
Image made with, ironically, Google's ImageFX tool. Prompt: "Neo from "The Matrix" movie dressed as a Catholic Pope, wearing the papal hat, with a church background made with the green matrix characters".
No blasphemy intended. Just making a topically-relevant pun.
Image made with, ironically, Google's ImageFX tool. Prompt: "Neo from "The Matrix" movie dressed as a Catholic Pope, wearing the papal hat, with a church background made with the green matrix characters".
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As Continental European, I might get back to church actually. I believe in science and progress, but I admit that the Church had that moral compass, however tainted by the scandals, which was imprinted in our societies and made them much more equal than the worship of wealth and money which reached its self-destructive parodic conclusion across the ocean.
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Just think labor unions will form around AI issues. What a time to be a union in general.
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Huh. I didn't know popes chose their own names.
It's a pretty reasonable concern, unfortunately.
In a healthy and functional society any technology which reduced or eliminated work would be viewed as a good thing.
Instead, the majority of people seem to think it's going to have a negative impact on the world overall.
IMHO, it's not even the technology itself, it's the fact that we're essentially inept at responding to it. I don't even think "AI" is the main culprit here. It's the fact that we've gotten very good at automating away human labor without giving the humans performing that labor anything to fall back on, which has been a collective choice on our part. It's just an absolutely brutal state of affairs for anyone caught up in it and it doesn't need to be.
It's a pretty reasonable concern, unfortunately.
In a healthy and functional society any technology which reduced or eliminated work would be viewed as a good thing.
Instead, the majority of people seem to think it's going to have a negative impact on the world overall.
IMHO, it's not even the technology itself, it's the fact that we're essentially inept at responding to it. I don't even think "AI" is the main culprit here. It's the fact that we've gotten very good at automating away human labor without giving the humans performing that labor anything to fall back on, which has been a collective choice on our part. It's just an absolutely brutal state of affairs for anyone caught up in it and it doesn't need to be.
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Time will tell more, but I continue to be amazed at just how right the choice of Pope Leo XIV continues to feel, a man equipped both for the office of the papacy and for dealing with the pressing issues of our time head on. While he's continuing the pastoral tone of Pope Francis with a strong emphasis and deep personal familiarity and understanding of ministry to the poor, Pope Leo also knows the inner workings of the rich and powerful nations and knows their games and tactics and has both the knowledge and language skills to directly and unambiguously call them out. He's a man who's walked both worlds and speaks their language and to their hearts
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The only thing that's probably crossed the line into blasphemy are the people making TikTok vids of people acting out the eucharist ceremony with deep dish pizza and Malort liquor. Even then, it's the acting out part that crossed the line. Everyone is sharing memes of deep dish pizzas right now. There's even a Chicago chain selling a Leo-themed Italian Beef sandwich.
We'll see if he's the right man for the job. He does appear insanely qualified. He doesn't just have a PhD in theology (many bishops have that). He speaks 5 languages fluently and can read and write in 2 more.
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Yeah, the tradition of picking a Papal name goes back to early popes who were converts from Roman paganism not wanting to keep their given names that were in honor of a pagan roman deity while assuming the chair of the papacy. Also for a good while the Pope was a temporal ruler as well, directly ruling the papal states and Rome after the collapse of the western empire and a lot of rulers would take on reginal names, kind of a nod in recognition that the crown and its responsivities changes the person, they aren't who they were before assuming the role anymore
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It always amazes me the logic AI companies use to justify their product...
AI company: "With AI, you won't have to work as much or as hard!"
Labor: "Great! I'll still get money to live with right?"
AI company: "Well, we'll get money."
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Uh Oh, someone put "prompt engineer" as a skill on LinkedIn.
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ReadandShare
Ars Centurion
Agree. Our world and my church (I'm Catholic) both face numerous problems. Despite their human faults, I think the last few popes from JP II to Francis have been steering the church closer back on track. Hopefully, Leo will continue.
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This, inadvertently, really captures the issue with the AI slop creation tools.
On an article about very reasonable and accurate concerns about AI more widely, one of the first reactions from a technology commentariat that should know better is to produce AI slop for a funny.
It is the same "AI will give me what I want for this situation right now!" mindset that has made it such a dangerous tool for disinformation, diseducation, and eroding of employment and careers. You can just (unironically) not make the AI slop.
Edit: Very nice Pope position. Now let's see his LGBT stance card.
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Personally, I would have chosen "Popey McPopeface" as my Papal name. Which may be why my self-nomination was rejected.
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I'm still holding out hope that in my lifetime there will be Sixtus VI.
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People need to lighten up a little, recognize humor for what it is. This wasn't in bad taste so even on a purely social level I don't think this was abject in and of itself, so I don't think you should have to excuse yourself. Religion doesn't deserve the silk gloves its treated with. [Insert flavor of religion] certainly doesn't treat other religions or non-religion with the same kind of deference and respect that it demands for itself, so have at it.
I invite anyone that thinks otherwise to read and listen to Sam Harris, Daniel Dennet, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and many others.
Nothing should be beyond criticism, even (maybe especially) religion. Not doing so does everyone and religion a disservice, in my opinion.
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Likely in practice we'll see a continuation of Fracis' policies. I wouldn't expect any massive change in the stance of the church today on LGBT policies.
The best hope here is coming out of things like the synod of synodality and the meetings on the family that Francis created. The push towards a more inclusive church where people are welcomes and not ostracized is the first step. Given the church is still fighting over Vatican II (which was center stage during Francis' papacy) you can see how hard it can be to dislodge the conservatives.
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it gets worse. Lately the kkkonservative "christians" have been talking about the danger and sin of compassion.
I shit you not.
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I can't imagine it will be a particularly quick process. I grew up as part of a (slightly) more liberal and accepting church and they've only just really started to be okay with lesbians. Gay men and trans folk still get a bit more of a pushback. Religious reformation, particularly on these types of social issues, tends to be very challenging.
This is (broadly) good take though on AI and it is nice to see this conscientiousness being shared by the leader of a major religious organisation, even if I am no longer religious myself.
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Not at all religious, however I think the new pope is heading in the proper direction for the times we live in. Think we need less detached religion and more about how religious beliefs can be channeled to support people rather than business.
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There was also some pastor who effectively said that Jesus was a sissy boy who should have fought back against the Romans. I know that not all American Protestantism is beyond the pale, but the fact that there are some sects that are starting to believe that shows just how far from God's light they're straying.
"Sin of empathy" sounds like something a cheesy manga villain would talk about to justify their plan to destroy the world, right before the hero and his gang of misfits punch him out and save the day with the power of friendship.
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Those ‘Christians’ are the post apocalyptic psychos we’ve seen in movies in recent years. Like in The Last of Us.
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I have literally been told "That's heresy!" by a street preacher for quoting the Sermon on the Mount.
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This is exactly why I think Francis resonated so much with people, even if they weren't Catholic.
Between the name and the fact that the conservatives are calling him a Marxist, I figured he'd be a good fit for the times. It seems that this is playing out as I expected. The world needs a push for compassion for those most in need even more so today.
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"Why did Christ not use his water-into-wine powers to simply kill the Romans by replacing their blood?"
This is the sort of thinking that comes from too much time on Powerscaling reddit.
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And yet they'll to be the most biblical bible believing church/pastor/person ever to exist in the all history ever
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